Click and Collect

Click and collect is a growing shopping phenomenon that is rapidly gaining popularity with UK retailers and consumers alike.

Offering great products, excellent customer service and having a strong brand isn’t always enough to stand out on the high street anymore, the average 21st century customer also needs choice and convenience – and that’s exactly what click and collect services offer.

In fact, recent studies have shown that more than half of UK shoppers have picked up an online order from a shop or specified collection point. While delivery to a home or work address is still the UK’s most popular form of receiving orders made online, click and collect is growing in popularity because people are leading busier lives and it offers a level of flexibility that puts the individual in control.

Benefits to Retailers

But it’s not just consumers who love click and collect, more and more retailers are finding that offering click and collect services and other collection methods are helping them move towards a functioning omni-channel sales strategy – where orders can be fulfilled from more points along their supply chain regardless of where or how the order was placed. Many traditional high street retailers are even finding that an effective omni-channel strategy can help them compete against giant online specialists.

Britain is already leading the way in terms of individuals using click and collect services, with the overall market value expected to rise by 112% to £6.5 billion by 2018. However, over half of the InternetRetailing Top500 (IRUK 500) companies are still yet to offer any collection options despite this being considered a ‘game-changer’ by consumers and industry experts alike.

So what is the key to implementing click and collect effectively in your business? As our recent white paper entitled ‘Taming the E-tail Tiger’ explains “this requires secure storage and management of parcels, receipts, labels and scans, which adds to the cost and potential complications if the systems don’t work in harmony together. Organisation, efficiency and technology are imperative here.”

Read on to find out about the click and collect storage systems Link 51 can offer your business or click here or on the panel on the right to download the white paper in its entirety.

Click and Collect Lockers

We are experts in providing click and collect storage solutions for retailers in all sectors, from small independent stores to big high-street names and nationwide supermarkets.

Our click and collect lockers and cupboards are a particularly effective way of securely storing goods for your customers to pick them up at a time that suits them. They can be fitted in your warehouse, stockroom, shop floor, behind checkouts or at an offsite location, and come in various sizes, colours, finishes and with multiple locking options. Why not order stylish laminate models in a colour that matches your corporate branding? Managed by your staff, parcels and stock can be stored and managed for fast and efficient identification and picking once the customer calls to collect, reducing delays and improving the customer service experience.

Shelving for Click and Collect Stock

Depending on the nature of the items being sold, you may find shelving a better option. We manufacture a varied range of shelving systems for storing products of all shapes and sizes that can help you organise stock for customer collection.

From durable shelving with a range of dividers and other optional accessories, to small parts containers which can store individual orders separately, we’ll help find a solution that works for your business.

Whatever products you offer, we strive to take your specific requirements into consideration and help you develop marking leading solutions at the cutting edge of this new seller phenomenon, to not only fulfil customer demand, but help you gain a strategic advantage over competitors from an operational and brand image perspective.

Packing Stations and Workbenches

One of the significant challenges of a multi-channel strategy which allows customers to place orders using a variety of traditional and online methods is the need to fulfil orders from the most efficient part of the supply chain. This may be from store stock or regional fulfilment centre, drop shipped from the manufacturer or direct from the National Distribution Centre, in nearly all cases where a last mile courier is used, appropriate packaging is required.

Packaging requirements at store level are most often overlooked and that’s why Link 51’s range of packing benches can be configured to meet most high street stock room requirements. Effectively ringfencing space for both packaging materials and labelling in the most efficient manner possible to ensure store stock is safely packed to reach the customer in good order.

The same issue applies to reverse logistics where an item ordered on line and delivered via a fulfilment centre and returned to store, either for store stock, reallocation to an online order or to be returned to the manufacturer or distribution centre – all plausible options for a successful omni-channel operation. Our range of workbenches and workstation storage solutions ensure each point of supply chain contact can operate in a lean and efficient manner to avoid unnecessary cost.

Industry analysts predict click and collect sales will continue to rise steadily over the next five years. Don’t follow in the footsteps of many large high-street chains that have suffered by not keeping up to date with the latest trends in ecommerce and e-retail – consider your click and collect storage capabilities and join the retail revolution today.

Our storage experts can come to your premises to measure the space available, discuss your needs and design a space and cost effective click and collect storage system tailored to your requirements free of charge.

Call us on 0800 169 5151 for more information or to arrange your free onsite appointment.